OPINION: Standing together against terror

OPINION: Standing together against terror

New York state Sen. Jesse Hamilton. Photo courtesy of Sen. Hamilton’s office

By NYS Senator Jesse Hamilton

For Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The attacks in Beirut, Paris, Gush Etzion, Tel Aviv and Bamako have something at their core in common: an abiding hatred for humanity. Whether victims number in the hundreds or a single person is injured, whether the crime takes place in Europe, the Middle East or Africa, these attacks amount to an assault on our common humanity. As a community, we must overcome the toxic message of the terrorists. We must unite and demonstrate that our common commitment to one another is stronger than the divisions these cruel attackers seek to advance.

We can repudiate division by rejecting demagoguery. Mooting religious tests for public office, suggesting the government close houses of worship or proposing a registry of adherents to a faith elevates terrorists and their evil actions to a position they should never hold: arbiters of our civic life. We cannot nurture the seeds of suspicion and discord of terrorism. Our long-held freedoms and traditions, like our longstanding tradition of religious tolerance, requires the renewal, the nurturing and the care of every New Yorker.

As New Yorkers, we are blessed with a long history of ethnicities, cultures and faiths from all over the world assembling to contribute to our community. Through our actions we can serve as a beacon to the broader public in the U.S. and around the world. Action like interfaith dialogues to advance understanding. Action like broad-based coalition building to tackle the down-to-earth problems we face, education, transportation, caring for the vulnerable and improving our quality of life.